Many organizations worldwide are focusing today on quality to restore their competitive edge. They know now that an emphasis on quality improves overall productivity and reduces costs. This was not always the case, business people used to think just the opposite; that quality costs. As a result organizations emphasized productivity at the expense of quality and began to lose many of customers as competition increased.

Enter the quality gurus who slowly created a “Paradigm Shift” to everybody in the global marketplace. I will be discussing three of these “guru’s”, W. Edwards Deming, Philip B. Crosby and Joseph M. Juran, and comparing their strategies for quality management. These recognized quality experts have been carrying forth the message of quality for more than three decades.

DEMING

The fundamental point in Deming’s theory is basically “The Customer is King” and is the most important part of the production system. Without a consumer, there is no reason to produce. Therefore the question that the organization must ask itself is ‘what does the customer want or what does the customer thinks he needs or wants?’ To Deming, the only meaningful definition of quality is that which the consumer specifies. A product can be technically sound and cheap but if it is the wrong product, then it is worthless to the consumer. It is important to anticipate the consumer’s future needs as well as those of the present in order to continue to meet the consumer’s definition of quality and sustain a competitive advantage.

Deming looks at quality from a systems and leadership perspective. He has developed many concepts associated with this approach, namely:-

A. The 14 Points
B. The System of Profound Knowledge
C. The Plan–Do–Check–Act Cycle
D. “Prevention by Process Improvement”
E. The Chain Reaction for Quality Improvement
F. Common Cause and Special Cause Variation
G. The Deadly and Dreadful Diseases.

The most famous of these are his 14 Point

DEMING'S 14 POINTS FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT

A plan was developed by Deming which is called Deming's 14 points in order to help the management to achieve required improvements in both quality and productivity. They are given below

1.Create consistency of purpose for the improvement of product or service

2. Adopt the new philosophy

3. Cease dependence on mass inspection for quality control building quality into the product in the first place.

4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag

5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease the cost

6. Institute more through better job-oriented training

7. Teach and Institute leadership

8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company

9. Break down barriers between departs

10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force that ask for zero defects and new levels of productivity

11. Eliminate work standards on the factory floor

12. Remove the barriers that rob employees at all levels in the company of their right to pride of workmanship

13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement

14. Put everybody to work to accomplish the transformation

If these steps are implemented within an organization then there will be an increase in quality while being cost effective. Thus, the...

...HYPOTHESIS
As American industry becomes increasingly more concerned about quality as a competitive advantage, the question of defining a term as inherently subjective as quality becomes more and more contentious. Many managers operate on the "I know it when I see it" principle; however, a growing awareness exists that in order to have a quality product or service or company, there must be some consensus on what quality is.1 Since...

...Juran and Deming
W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran pursued their efforts and devoted their lives to helping organizations improve the quality of their products and services. Their impact is now worldwide and their accomplishments eminent.
Deming and Juran’s amazing lives paralleled each other in many ways. As youths, both experienced hard times. However, they both overcame their humble...

...QualityGuru’s Comparison
| Crosby | Deming | Juran | Feigenbaum | Shewhart | Ishikawa | Taguchi |
Definition of Quality | -It is conformance to requirements , not as goodness-It is management's job to set the requirements and communicate to employees. | Meeting and exceeding the customer's need and expectations and then continuing to improve. | -Quality mission of the company is "fitness...

...W. Edwards Deming
He was an eminent scholar and teacher in American academia for more than half a century. He
published hundreds of original papers, articles and books covering a wide range of interrelated
subjects—from statistical variance, to systems and systems thinking, to human psychology. He was
a trusted consultant to influential business leaders, powerful corporations and governments
around the world. This includes inspiring and guiding the spectacular rise of Japanese...

...﻿William Edwards Deming (October 14, 1900 – December 20, 1993) was an American statistician, professor, author, lecturer and consultant. He is perhaps best known for the "Plan-Do-Check-Act" cycle popularly named after him. In Japan, from 1950 onwards, he taught top management how to improve design (and thus service), product quality, testing, and sales (the last through global markets)[1] through various methods, including the application of statistical methods....

...opportunity for positive change, the status quo can always be challenged. This echoes with the infinite PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle from the teachings of Walter Deming which undoubtedly influenced the Japanese way of thinking on quality and subsequently coming up with the idea of Kaizen and making it their way of doing.
Quality circles
Quality circles is an important organ of Kaizen, they consist of an informal group of people that...